This AEI Public Opinion study brings together public
opinion polls from major pollsters on confidence in the Social Security
system, whether the public views the situation as a crisis, and
attitudes about personal retirement accounts and other reforms. It looks
at polls on the politics of Social Security and on government's
responsibility in the area. The study includes all of the latest polling
data as well as important historical trends for comparative purposes. PDF
file here

BRCA Works By Norm Ornstein

Campaign reform worked in 2004, as even sharp skeptic David Broder
admitted recently. The parties, including the Democrats, thrived, small
donors increased dramatically, and much of the corporate and union
money, no longer subject to shakedown schemes by office-holders, stayed
with the companies and unions, or went into their own voter registration
and get-out-the-vote efforts.Full
article here.

Don't Expect to See Bush Dems in
109th CongressBy John Fortier

In the wake of Watergate, Democrats scored a huge
victory in the congressional midterm elections, gaining 49 seats. Today,
there are only nine current House members whose service predates that
election, and, of the 70 freshman Democrats elected in 1974, only George
Miller (Calif.), James Oberstar (Minn.) and Henry Waxman (Calif.) remain
in the House.

Aside from the change in individuals, the composition of Congress has
changed in significant ways that affect the way it operates. The
geographical majority has shifted southwest, the solidly Democratic
South has been transformed to a Republican region and the two political
parties have become sharply polarized. Full
article here.

Debate about DebatesThink you know what a filibuster is? Think again!
AEI Resident Scholar Norm Ornstein and former Senate Judiciary Chairman
Orrin Hatch (R-Uath) have been engaging in a "debate about
debates" in Roll Call regarding what exactly constitutes a
filibuster and their historic use. For full exchange, see PDF file here.

The Politics of
Compassionby Karlyn Bowman
Released January 2005
"Broadening the Base: The Case for a New Federal Tax Credit for
Political Contributions"
by David Rosenberg
with a foreward by Norman J. Ornstein
Released June 25, 2002View
Foreward and Executive SummaryView
Report and Appendices